Thursday, April 29, 2010

When I look back at my first few Art Dolls ..I just smile ..I remember why or who I made them for .

I have been an artist and a crafter my whole life ..when I was a young I spent the summers with my grandparents splitting my time between Newark ,Westwood and Lk Hopatcong .. Lk Hopatcong was by far my favorite summer playground ..picking berries for breakfast .swimming in the lake and Bertram's Island ...But the very best thing Was hanging with My Uncle Sid and His wife ..because It Was all about The ART ! learning about color and sketching and if I was really lucky we would paint with oil paints , I still love the way Oil Paints smell all the linseed oil and turpentine...

A gift for Sharon
My 2nd Patti Culea
pattern

At about the age of 6 my Mom introduced me to the sewing machine, Her prized black Singer with the gold decals ..as it turns out I used it for 20 yrs Making Doll clothes and even clothes for my self

You name a Craft and I have tryed it...... tye dyeing .painting plaster , glazing Green wear , embroidery .quilting , crocheting wreath making . jewelry making ,scrap booking , weaving . teddy bear making , candle making . I even built a beautiful Victorian doll house. Most recently I have been enjoying the exploration of Polymer clay.

Lets get back to the Dolls .About 4 yrs ago I had hand surgery and was in hand therapy ...the therapist told me to find something to do that would use fine motor skills... just about then I thought " I need to create something new to learn something new"...So on my home I popped into the book store and headed for the Magazine rack ..AHA I found a copy of ADQ ...I was blown away at the dolls inside . I thought ,there must be some books on doll making , Well that day I found only one ...Patti Culeas's " Creative Cloth Doll Making" I bought it ... and I went home and opened My craft closet and pulled a piece of white cotton fabric out and

began making Patti's Patterns from the book . I made 2 dolls right away , Painting the skin and faces was lots of fun . then I found a beautiful peachy pink flesh fabric at a local quilt show Dyed by Bunny Goode . I love the color an it is my go to cotton body fabric., I now have all of Patti's books and refer to them often. For a couple yrs I was alone in my adventure into the Art Doll world.. Then one day I stumbled on to a fantastic website "Cloth doll Artistry" I once again was blown away by the fantastic Dolls ! On this Site I met Judy Skeel . She was so kind to give me a list of contacts she had from NJ . as a result I now belong to a cloth Doll club and a mixed media Doll club .The last year I have been blessed with wonderful and generous new friends in the Art Doll community hear in NJ and all over the world too ..... I am Having the time of my life !!!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

This is a Doll I love making..I learned it from Pam Grose at Anne Hesse's MM & M last September. .Pam is a fantastic lady and a inspiring teacher.She was up at the crack of dawn ready to play and She hung out with us teaching her techniques late into the night ,I hope one day to take another workshop with her,

This Sprite I made with two friends of mine Susan and Doreen we spent several Mondays working on them together.Both their dolls came out really cute too.

Her Green Felt hat, bodice and shoes are made from one wool felt cone. I cut up and stretched by adding some soap and water. the petals of her skirt are organza that I heat distressed and I added glitter paint to the edges .She is wrapped in black stretch velvet . I painted face and hands and I used gel pens ,H2o paints and some chalk to do her Face....Because she has a wire Armature she can be posed . I'm sure this will not be the last Woodland Sprite I make....

Last week my friend Colleen and I hopped over to N.Y , Queens to be exact We were on our way to a Polymer clay workshop at the Purple Petals Studio ,With Amber Dawn . Amber makes the most wonderful Minnies in clay . The day was filled with fun and a few laughs too. We all learned the Skinner Blend and made tiny flowers with it the second part of the workshop was the best we made tiny Sweets.... Cakes Cookies and even a little cupcake

This is my tiny little layer Cake About the size of a nickel. I think it looks good enough to eat .. See the little chocolate bar too!

2 cookies a cupcake and a Cinnamon Bun All made in Polymer Clay....I should have made a tiny glass of milk to go with them !

Thursday, April 15, 2010

This was my second ever workshop and it was a blast ! three days three Dolls here are the photos of the Dolls I have finished I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them. I still have one Doll to finish .I'll post her when I finish Her.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

A few Weeks ago I had the good fortune to attend the Wendy Froud 3 day N.Y workshop With the "SEW SEW" Girls ,Colleen,Tery and Heidi.It Was An early birthday Gift From My Hubby .I'm a lucky Lady to get such a wonderful gift. Thank you Big ED

It was A polymer clay creature workshop given by the Fantastic team of Wendy and Toby Froud.

We met more than a few talented ladies and made a couple of new Artsy friends ... We Had fun Hanging at the Hotel with Sherri from California Who set the whole thing up ...She is the best !

Finn the Keeper of Secrets

Wendy and Toby with all our dolls

It was amazing How Wendy and Toby pushed me out of my comfort zone of Bright colors and into a whole new world of fur and leather. then Finn my creature was born .

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Let me start By Saying I LOVE the city ! I met My Friends Colleen and Tery just before noon the day of the show. The weather was beautiful , Tery had us at the show in no time ..Love Her ! The beads were crazy.... enough to Blow your mind... Silver gold and copper. crystals,Glass & stone....wire and findings and tools too. We went We spent! Next time I must bring more cash .